使用令人愉快的触摸条件位置偏好 (PT-CPP) 测试，研究人员表明，在感觉神经元中表达前动力素受体2(PROKR2) 或其配体PROK2的脊髓兴奋性中间神经元的基因消融可以消除 PT-CPP，而不会损害小鼠身上的疼痛和瘙痒行为。 突变小鼠在应激反应和亲社会行为方面表现出严重的损害。
此外，PROKR2神经元对轻柔的抚摸反应最为强烈，并编码奖励值。总的来说，研究人员将PROK2确定为一种长期寻找的神经肽，它编码并将愉快的触觉传递给脊髓PROKR2 神经元。这些发现可能对阐明愉快的触摸剥夺导致社交回避行为和精神障碍的机制具有重要意义。
据介绍，愉快的触摸提供了情感和心理支持，有助于减轻社会孤立和压力。然而，人们对其潜在机制仍知之甚少。
附：英文原文
Title: Molecular and neural basis of pleasant touch sensation
Author: Benlong Liu, Lina Qiao, Kun Liu, Juan Liu, Tyler J. Piccinni-Ash, Zhou-Feng Chen
Issue&Volume: 2022-04-29
Abstract: Pleasant touch provides emotional and psychological support that helps mitigate social isolation and stress. However, the underlying mechanisms remain poorly understood. Using a pleasant touch–conditioned place preference (PT-CPP) test, we show that genetic ablation of spinal excitatory interneurons expressing prokineticin receptor 2 (PROKR2), or its ligand PROK2 in sensory neurons, abolishes PT-CPP without impairing pain and itch behaviors in mice. Mutant mice display profound impairments in stress response and prosocial behaviors. Moreover, PROKR2 neurons respond most vigorously to gentle stroking and encode reward value. Collectively, we identify PROK2 as a long-sought neuropeptide that encodes and transmits pleasant touch to spinal PROKR2 neurons. These findings may have important implications for elucidating mechanisms by which pleasant touch deprivation contributes to social avoidance behavior and mental disorders.
DOI: abn2479
Source: https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.abn2479